Signals
Disclaimer: If I owned BHH, it would have ended with Victor being bad muhhahahaha, VJ, MC, and Lucas being alone, 'cause I don't like him, as you'll soon find out. no offense to Lucas fans But, I may change my mind... So, as it is, don't own 'em.
Summary: Five years after Conclusions, the Science Club bumps into each other again. They were wrong about Victor...
1
Josie Trent gazed at the diamond ring on her finger. Aaron was a nice man. Good looking, kind, wealthy. Yes, she'd made the right choice by saying yes to his proposal. Hadn't she? The twenty-three year old began to rummage around in her dresser. Josie lived in a nice condo and was a receptionist at the nearby hospital. Not what she'd expected to do when she was a teen, but it paid well. Finally, she found it. The photo. It was taken right before she had been sucked into that alternate reality... "That was a nightmare," Josie murmured. The photo pictured five teens and a young man in his thirties. There was Corrine. A smile lit Josie's face. Marshall. Those two had probably gotten married. Lucas... Had she made the right choice by saying she didn't like him that way? Attraction had been there... "But," She sighed, tracing the face of another boy with her finger, "It was there with Vaughn, too." Maybe she shouldn't have pulled away when he tried to kiss her. Maybe... So many maybes...
"Hey, Josie!" a woman with fluffy blonde hair walked over. Ashley, Josie's best friend here. "Hey, Ash," Josie smiled. "You look... not yourself," Ashley pronounced. The hospital was big, and Ashley was a nurse there. Josie took her spot at the receptionist desk. "By the way," Ashley said, "Aaron called me. Said something about a surprise that I was not to te- oops!" The look in Ashley's eyes said that it had not been accidentle. "Get to your job before your boss fires you," Josie smirked. "I'll just flirt with him," Ashley threw over her shoulder as she walked off. Josie shook her head. Ashley was the opposite of Corrine. Just as she was saying that, a gasp came. "Josie!" Josie lifted her head up, stunned at the voice. It was Corrine. And she was on crutches. "Corrine!" She cried, coming out from behind the desk. "What happened?" Corrine blushed. "I slipped when I was skating." The two women hugged, and then walked into the parking lot. "My life has been awful ever since I graduated," Corrine sighed, "On that trip to Europe, Marshall broke up with me. I lost the will to go to college, and now I work at the local drug store, single. What about you?" Josie winced. She had never thought that she would be more successful than Corrine. "Well, as you can see, I'm a receptionist at the hospital. And... well, I'm engaged to a businessman named Aaron." Corrine heaved another sigh. "I can't get around well with this broken ankle, so my boss is planning on firing me." Josie shook her head. "You can move in with me. We can be roommates again. I've gotten neater, trust me."
Corrine was finally moved in when the call came. Actually, it was a message. "Hey, Josie, it's Vaugh." She froze as she listened. "Uh, look, I've found Marshall and Lucas. We can't contact Corrine, but maybe you can. We really need you guys over here. Something weird is going on at my parents' new school. You should be able to find it, it's at the old school's site. So, um, meet us there on Tuesday, at 3ish. Bye." "Corrine," Josie turned, "We are goin' to that school."
My first fanfic. Hope you liked. R and R, please!
2
Josie tried to keep tears from clouding her eyes as she drove. The old school had been torn down years ago, but she still missed it. And the people in it. Maybe one person in particular? the taunting voice in her head asked. "You seem distracted," Corrine commented. "It's just gonna be kind of a shock seeing a different school where the old one was," Josie sighed. "Yeah. But for me, it's gonna be harder seeing Marshall." "Um," Josie wasn't sure how to approach an old wound. "Why did you and Marshall break up anyway?" Another blush lit up Corrine's face. "It was stupid. I asked Marshall why he didn't fight more to stay at the school (A/N, this always bothered me), and he didn't have an answer. Then, he asked me why Vaughn and I were so close-" Josie whipped her head around. "Excuse me?" (A/N, hated how Vand C were so close. Like they would get together!) "Josie," Corrine moaned, "It was hard. We were both heartbroken. Marshall was at a different school, you were missing..." "He was heartbroken?" Josie murmured. "Yeah," Corrine admitted, "He really had feeling for you, Joze." Josie snorted. "Didn't seem that way." "Well, you didn't give him much of a chance. I saw it when he tried to kiss you. It was you who pulled away, not Vaughn." "I have a new life, now," Josie whispered, "I've gotta leave my ghosts behind."
Vaughn shifted nervously from foot-to-foot. Lucas whiped his glasses every three minutes. Marshall kept checking his breath. The three were positioned outside the new Blake Holsey. Actually, it was called the Sarah Pearson Academy. Vaughn's mother hadn't wanted the school to be named after her, but Victor had insisted. Josie had called Lucas to tell them that she had found Corrine, and was coming. "You seem nervous," Marshall commented to Vaughn. "And I thought you and Corrine were broken up," He shot back. Marshall flinched. Lucas rolled his eyes. It was obvious that Marshall regretted the breakup. He, meanwhile, was caught up over which Josie he liked. Josie 2 was stuck in the other dimension. He would never have her. But Josie... maybe... But Vaughn seemed torn as well. The guy, who was now a lawyer (A/N, surprise, surprise!) and was dating Abby, a pretty 22 year old who owned a restaurant. Lucas was now a teacher at SPA, and Marshall was a news journalist. "Figures that I'd be a reporter when we used to be keeping them away," Marshall laughed. Just then, a little dark blue convertible pulled up. Two women were in the seats. The one in the drivers seat was a short, cute redhead. The other was an African American who, though she was seated awkwardly, still was very pretty. Vaughn gulped. Josie had just gotten prettier over the years. "Hey!" He called. Josie, not even looking at him, got out of the car and helped Corrine out. Marshall drew his breath in as he saw the young woman's injured ankle. The guys walked up to the girls. "Hi, Vaughn," Josie breathed, blushing, "It's been a while." He nodded. "If five years is equivalent to 'a while'." Everyone got reaquainted, and finally, Corrine was the one to say it. "Where's Z?" "Uh," Marshall said, "Corrine, he's... gone." "Oh, yeah, nice goin'," Lucas rolled his eyes. "'He's gone.' Very nice." "There was a car accident," Marshall continued, "And Z... Well, he didn't make it." Josie seemed to be the most upset about this. Slowly, she sat down on the side of her car. Suddenly, her cell phone began to ring. Quietly, she picked it up. "Hello?... What? Who? Wait!" But the phone went dead. "What's wrong?" Vaughn asked. "Um, Z can't be dead," Josie whispered. "Josie" Lucas began, but she cut him off. "Because he just called me on my phone."
Dun, dun, duuuuuun! Is Z really alive. Corny, I know, but don't worry, it'll get better.